AUGUSTA – All private and public high school students in Maine are again invited to compete in a national poetry recitation contest for awards totaling more than $100,000 in scholarships and school stipends.

The Maine Arts Commission, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, will present Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest.

State winners will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Washington, D.C. national championship where a $20,000 college scholarship will go to the Poetry Out Loud National Champion and that state winner’s school will receive $500 for the purchase of poetry books.

Poetry Out Loud is a program that encourages high school students to learn about poetry through memorization, performance and competition. During fall and winter, schools are invited to participate in classroom and schoolwide contests, advancing to a state competition in March 2008. State champions will advance to the National Finals on April 27 to 29 in Washington. The NEA and the Poetry Foundation have partnered to provide materials, grants, prizes and the National Finals. With this support, the Maine Arts Commission has expanded the program to include all public, private and home-school students to participate in 2007-2008. Additionally, the NEA and the Poetry Foundation will provide state arts agencies with free, standards-based curriculum materials for use by participating schools. Program materials are available for download at www.poetryoutloud.org.

Students who participate may be eligible to compete in the state and national finals. Each winner at the state level will receive $200 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to compete for the national championship.

The state winner’s school will receive a $500 stipend for the purchase of poetry books. One runner-up in each state will receive $100, with $200 for his or her school library. Poetry Out Loud will award a total of $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends at the national finals, with at least a $20,000 college scholarship for the Poetry Out Loud National Champion.

High school teachers who are interested in participating in Poetry Out Loud should know that the program requires less than two or three weeks of class time. High schools that wish to be part of the official Poetry Out Loud program must contact the Maine Arts Commission. The commission will determine which schools are eligible to take part in the official program. Schools that are not in the official program may conduct their own contests using the online resources. Contact Tina P. Mann at 287-6571 or [email protected] for more information or program materials.